Happy Monday, and with just two days left before NHL free agency opens, the rumor mill is already humming. For the Blackhawks, that means the summer is still very much alive, even after a busy stretch that included the Bowen Byram and Andre Burakovsky trades and the NHL Entry Draft.
Kyle Davidson has already stacked plenty onto his plate, but the work is nowhere close to finished. Justin Lynch noted as much, and the Blackhawks are still right in the middle of the offseason shuffle.
One of the more interesting nuggets floating around came from Frank Servalliii on The FAN Pregame, where he talked through why the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t move Matthew Knies before the draft. According to Servalliii, the Blackhawks were willing to part with the fourth overall pick for Knies, but only if Toronto added a “roster player plus plus” on top of it.
Davidson’s response was the sensible one: "Thanks, but no thanks." It also sounds like John Chayka may have pushed too hard on the Knies talks, though that may have been the point all along.
The prospect traffic is picking up in Chicago, too. Blackhawks prospects have started arriving for this week’s development camp, and the team reminded fans that every practice session is free and open to the public. If you’re headed out, there’s a good chance you’ll see plenty of familiar young faces getting their first work in.
There was also a little history lesson attached to the date. On June 29, 1990, the Blackhawks and Canadiens pulled off one of those rare hometown-for-hometown swaps, with Denis Savard going to Montreal for Chris Chelios.
Savard later won a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993 before returning to Chicago as a free agent that same offseason. Chelios ended up playing 664 games for the Blackhawks, scoring 92 goals and 487 points, and he won the Norris Trophy in 1993 and 1996.
Both players have had their numbers retired by the team.
The date also carries a couple of coaching notes from the franchise’s past. In 1995, Craig Hartsburg became the 30th head coach in Blackhawks history after Darryl Sutter resigned days earlier.
Then in 1998, former captain Dirk Graham was named head coach, with Savard and Lorne Molleken on his staff. That run didn’t last long; Graham was let go after a 16-35-8 start and Molleken took over.
As for the birthday roll call, June 29 belongs to Ty Arbour, Craig Hartsburg, Theo Fleury, and Drew Leblanc.
Around the league, Servalliii also touched on the ongoing Jason Robertson situation on Sportnet’s Big Show. He said the Dallas Stars had another trade lined up after the proposed deal with the Seattle Kraken fell apart, and that plan would have sent the seventh overall pick acquired for Robertson into a package for the Maple Leafs and Knies.
Servalliii added that the Montreal Canadiens made a “massive” offer to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko, and that’s a name worth watching from Chicago’s point of view. A move for Marchenko, he suggested, might make more sense than one for Robertson.
There were also a pair of contract updates elsewhere in the league. The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Michael Kesselring to a three-year, $13.5 million deal after acquiring him from the Buffalo Sabres along with the 27th overall pick in exchange for the 20th pick in Friday’s first round. The Nashville Predators followed by signing Jack Drury to a five-year, $22.5 million contract, another sign that bottom-six players are starting to cash in as the salary cap rises.
And in Detroit, Patrick Kane remains in the picture. He has spent the last three seasons with the Red Wings on three straight one-year contracts, and general manager Steve Yzerman is still hoping to bring him back for another season.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Fans Finally Get A Real Look At The Pipeline
The Blackhawks are about to give fans a much better look at the future. Chicago announced a 19-player roster for its upcoming Development Camp, and this years version will finally return to on-ice work at the Blackhawks Ice Center after the event had shifted to an off-ice format in 2023. The camp runs Tuesday through Thursday, with a mix of top prospects and recent draft picks set to take part as the organization starts putting its pipeline on display again.
There is plenty of intrigue in the group, too, with names such as Sacha Boisvert, Marek Vanacker, Vaclav Nestrasil and Mason West among those expected on the ice. Four of the Blackhawks five 2026 NHL Draft selections are also scheduled to attend, giving the team a chance to evaluate a broad slice of its prospect pool in one setting. Media availability is lined up during the week as well, offering a closer look at the players, coaches and management shaping what comes next. [Read more 🡒]